Clouds. Wow!

I know it will sound ridiculous to our friends and family in the East, but after many weeks of nothing but clear blue skies, having a cloud to look at is something special.  One of our friends, Jim S, here in the community made a statement the other day that highlights the desire for clouds.

    "There was a sighting today," he said.
    "What?" I asked.
    "A cloud was seen," he explained.

Southern Arizona receives not one, but two rainy seasons annually.  The first is during the winter months of January through mid-March, and it shows itself as light soaking rains, and occasional small amounts of snow in our community. These winter storms stream across from the West coast. The second rainy season of the year for Arizona, and Tucson in particular, occurs from July through mid September.  This period is called the "monsoons" by weather professionals as well as the general public.  During this time, moisture from the Gulf of California streams north, allowing for some pretty spectacular and violent afternoon thunderstorms.

Because of the two rainy seasons our area receives annually, our desert (the Sonoran Desert) is much more lush compared to the other three major desert regions of the country, which only receive one annual rainy season each.

Major Deserts of North America

A monsoon thunderstorm

 The clouds we are seeing this morning are the early beginnings of the monsoon period. Although no rain is in the forecast yet, it is always notable here to witness a "sighting".    :-)